Dr Oetker acquires Simplot’s pizza business

German food group Dr Oetker has acquired Simplot’s Australian and New Zealand pizza business.

The company announced on Friday that the acquisition would include the Papa Giuseppi’s brand, all frozen private-label pizza made by Simplot and the pizza assets at Simplot’s facility in the Melbourne suburb of Pakenham.

The Papa Giuseppi brand was previously licensed to Nestlé, and purchased by Simplot in October 2009.

The companies said Simplot would continue to work closely with Dr Oetker to grow its frozen-pizza business in Australia and New Zealand, providing ongoing support services including merchandising, supply chain and manufacturing.

“Encouraged by the success of the Dr Oetker “Ristorante” brand in Australia, we look forward to the next stage of our growth plan in establishing ourselves as a national supplier of frozen pizza in the Australian market,” said Dr Oetker managing director Declan O’Leary.